Flash socket assembly

ABSTRACT

An extremely shallow flash socket assembly for use in or with a photographic camera is constructed to receive a multilamp flash assembly having an array of lamps facing in a common direction and a thin, shallow connector blade adapted to be inserted into the socket assembly. The socket assembly includes novel structures for preventing inadvertent dislodgement of the flash assembly from the socket assembly.

United States Patent 11 1 Brandt et al.

1111 3,747,489 'July 24, 1973 1 FLASH SOCKET ASSEMBLY 3,131,017 4/1964Mittler 339/176 MP x 3,598,985 8 1971 H d t l. 95 ll L X [751 Inventors:E4150" nfandbcohasset; Peter 3,583,304 61971 13:36: 9s /11.s R F. Costa,Wmthrop, both of Mass. 3,639,888 2/1972 Pittman et al 339/176 MP X A :Pl'dC t C mbr'd [73] Sslgnee 2: 2: orpora a l g6 Primary ExaminerSamuel S.Matthews 1 Assistant Examinerl(enneth C. Hutchison Flled! 1971Attorney-Charles Mikulka, Robert F. Peck et al. [21] App]. No.: 205,0700 r [57] ABSTRACT An extremely shallow flash socket assembly for use in[52] 339/17 339/176 MP or with a photogra hic camera is constructed tore- 51 1m 01 G03b19/02 P 58 m i L H 5 ceive a multilamp flash assemblyhaving an array of l 1 7 L lamps facing in a common direction and athin, shallow D I7CF connector blade adapted to be inserted into thesocket assembl The socket assembly includes novel strucf y 1 d 1 d f htures or preventing ma vertent tso gement o t e [56] UNITE!;; :ES:::FENTS flash assembly from the socket assembly. 2,935,723 5/1960 r611339/176 MP x 11 Chums "F F'gures PATENTEUJULZMGH SHEET 2 U? 5 INVENTORSEDISON R. BRANDT PETER F. COSTA M mm FIG.3

A TTDRNEYS Parcmwm SHEEI 3 BF 5 U u w mg; m

FIG. 7

INVENTORS DISON R. PETER F wSTA GRAN DT 65 M Mm FIG. 8

A T TORNE Y5 PATENTED SHEEI E OF 5 m MW FIG IO A TTOR/VEYS PmmiumINVENTORS EDISON R. BRANDT PETER F. COSTA mcmafm la.

A TTOR/VEYS' FLASH SOCKET ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE A newgeneration of photographic cameras has been revealed by the assignee ofthis application in recently issued patents, including U.S. Pat. Nos.3,447,437; 3,543,662; 3,561,339; and 3,587,426. These patents discloseadvanced folding cameras having an extremely high degree of compactnesswhen in their folded state.

This invention concerns, in general, certain aspects of a novel flashillumination system intended especially '1 for use in or with suchadvanced cameras. The system utilizes as its source of luminous energy adisposable multilamp flash assemblyhaving at least one, but preferablytwo, arrays of lamps of common orientation, as shown and described, forexample, in U.S. Pat. Nos.

. 3,598,984 and 3,598,985. In this flash illumination system, the flashassembly is interfaced with a flash selecting system which selects theflash lamp or lamps to be fired when a firing command is received. Theflash selecting system is preferably a static electronic flash selectingcircuit as shown, forexample, in U.S.. Pat. No.

' 3,618,492, assigned to theassignee, of this invention.

As shown in the referent U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,984 and 3,598,985, themultilamp flash assembly includes a support structure from which extendsa shallow, thin connector blade-carrying a setof electrical terminalsfor the lamps. The flash 'assemblyhas two back-to-back arraysof lampshaving re'spectivesets' of terminal strips disposed on opposite sides ofthe connector blade. The

plied force. As briefly discussed above, the socket assembly with whichthisinvention isconcerned is extremely'compact, particularlyin'adepthwise sense. The shallowne'ss of the socket assemblyaugmentsthedifficulty in retaining the flash assembly inthe socket assembly and inpreventing inadvertent dislodgement therefrom. v I M oaJscrs os THEINVENTION h t a It is ageneral objectof this inventionito providephotographic apparatushaving an improved flash socket assembly for usein a photographicflash illumination system which employs as its sourceof luminous energy a disposable multilamp flash assembly having at leastone array of lamps of common orientation including means fo'r maximizingthe're'tention of the disposable multilamp flash assembly by the socketassembly.

It is another object to provide for'use in a photographicflashilluminati'onsystern employing a multi- Ia'mp'flash assembly, animprovedflash socket assembly having means for preventing inadvertentdislodgement of the flash assembly from the socket assembly, as by anunintended blow or other applied force.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide meansforpreventing dislodgement of such a flash assembly which meansdo notoccupy, significant space; and which add but nominally to the cost ofmanufacture of such a socket assembly.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obviousand will in part become apparent as the following description proceeds.The features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointedout with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part ofthis specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thefront portion of a photographic camera embodying a flash illuminationsystem including a flash socket assembly implementing the teachings ofthis invention; a multilamp flash assembly adapted for connection intothe socket assembly is shown exploded from the socket assembly forclarity of illustration;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a flash illumination system with whichthis invention is concerned;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration useful in understanding theprinciples of this invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically the principles of this invention; y vFIG. 5 is a perspectiveviewof a flash socket assembly incorporating theteachings of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective sectional view of the socketassembly shown in FIG. 5 as it would appear with the connector blade ofa flash assembly inserted into the socket assembly; j

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along lines 7-.7in FIG. 5 as it would appear empty and with the contact members cutaway;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken gener; ally along lines8--8 in FIG. 5;

f FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along lines 9-9in FIG. 5 showing the socket assembly as it would appear when empty;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 butv showing the contact members asthey would appear when a flash assembly is connected in the socketassembly; and 8 FIGS. I l-.14 are views illustrating an alternativeembodiment of the invention; FIGS. 11, l 3, and 14 are viewscorresponding to FIGS. 6, 9, and 10; FIG. 12 is a fragmentary top viewof the socket assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS This invention is in generalconcerned with an imv proved flash illumination system employing as thesource of luminous energy a disposable multilamp flash assembly. FIG. 1illustrates a flash assembly 10 of a type andconstruction as shown anddescribed in the above-noted U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,984 and 3,598,985. Theflash assembly 10 is shown as comprising a first linear array of lampsl2 and a second oppositely facing linear array of lamps 14. A supportstructure 16 sup- I ports the arrays of lamps l2, l4 and a relativelythin and extremely shallow connector blade 18 which ex- .tendsdownwardly therefrom and carries on opposite The FIG. 2 schematicdiagram illustrates the flash assembly 10 as being electricallyinterfaced with a flash selecting system 22 through a plurality of leads24 which terminate in contact members 26 making engagement with theterminal strips 20. As shown clearly in FIG. 2, six terminal strips areprovided for the five lamps in each array. The sixth terminal strip,designated 20a in FIG. 2, is a ground terminal connected to a commonground wire for the lamps.

The flash selecting system 22, shown in black box form in FIG. 2, maytake any of a variety of forms but preferably comprises a staticelectronic flash sequenc-.

ing or programming circuit, as shown for example in the above-mentionedU.S. Pat. No. 3,618,492. A flash selecting system such as the systemshown and described in the referent patent is capable of selecting alamp or lamps in an operatively connected flash lamp assembly accordingto a predetermined sequencing or other selection program. A flashillumination system of the nature described has no moving parts, may beprogrammed with a wide range of flash selection programs, is capable ofautomatically avoiding defective lamps, and has many other advantageouscharacteristics, as pointed out in detail in the said patent.

As suggested above, flash illumination systems with which this inventionis concerned have general utility in cameras of many types andconstructions; however, apparatus according to this invention is perhapsmost useful when embodied in compact cameras in which available space isat a premium. FIG. 1 shows a front portion of a folding camera 29 of aform disclosed in the above-noted U.S. Pat. of the present assignee,Nos. 3,447,437; 3,543,662; 3,561,339; and 3,587,426. The FIG. 1 camera29 is illustrated as comprising a front assembly 30 mounted to pivotinto a face-down position on a back housing plate 32 when the camera isfolded for storage.

, The front assembly is shown as including an objective lens 34 having apicture-taking axis 35, a focus wheel 36 for focusing the lens 34, and ashutter actuator 38. The front assembly 30 includes a flash socketassembly 40 embodying the teachings of this invention; the socketassembly 40 is shown in detail in FIGS. 1 and -10.

This invention is directed to a flash socket assembly of the naturedescribed above having means for preventing dislodgement of a flashassembly from the socket assembly as a result of an inadvertentimpulsive or other applied force acting to rotate the flash assembly outof the socket assembly. Before engaging in a discussion of structurewhich may be employed to implement this invention, the principlesexploited to achieve dislodgement prevention according to this inventionwill be first described.

FIG. 3 illustrates in highly schematic form a socket assembly 120 havingtherein a blade-receiving space 122. Reference numeral 123 designates atop surface of socket assembly 120, or alternatively, surface 123 may betaken to represent the outer surface of steamera casing which houses thesocket assembly 120. A flash assembly 124 is illustrated as including asupport structure 126 and a connector blade 128 adapted for insertioninto the blade receiving space 122. The FIG. 3 diagram does notillustrate the principles of this invention.

If a force should be applied to the flash assembly 124 in the directionindicated by arrow 125, particularly a sharp blow as might beadministered by a hand of a user or by engagement of the flash assemblywith a fixed object, the lower edge 130 of the support structure 126 ofthe flash assembly 124 will engage surface 123, causing the flashassembly 124 to pivot about its edge 130 which acts as a fulcrum axis.The broken line illustration 134 shows the flash assembly 124 as itmight appear shortly after experiencing such a force.

As the flash assembly 124 rotates, the tip 136 of the connector blade128 is caused to move on an arcuate locus of radius R originating at theedge 130 of the support structure 126 of the flash assembly 124. R, isthus a relatively long radius originating from a point quite remote fromthe blade receiving space 122, with the result that the connector blade128 experiences relatively little interference with the walls of thesocket assembly which define the blade receiving space 122.Consequently, the flash assembly 124, as a result of an applied forcemoment, is able to pivot quite easily from the blade receiving space 122and thus to be dislodged from the socket assembly 120.

FIG. 4 illustrates the principles of this invention. In FIG. 4 primedreference numerals refer to like structure illustrated in FIG. 3.According to this invention fulcrum means are provided for establishinga fulcrum axis parallel to an entrance slot for receiving the connectorblade 128' of a flash assembly 124' (andthus to the blade-receivingspace 122'). The fulcrum axis is located above an adjacent surface of anassociated camera housing or other structure and being located as closeto the entrance slot as is practicable, such that upon receiving aninadvertent blow or applied force in a direction toward the fulcrumaxis, the flash assembly will pivot about the said fulcrum axis, therebyminim izing the dislodging effect of the blow.

In accordance with a preferred implementation of this invention,illustrated schematically in FIG. 4, a socket assembly establishesthesaid fulcrum axis by means of a boss 138 having a top surface140which is raised above an adjacent surface 142, here shown asrepresenting the surface 142 of the housing of an associatedphotographic camera, the boss 138 defining forward and rear edges 144,146 which establish forward and rear fulcrum axes.

It can be seen in FIG. 4 that upon experiencing a force in the directionindicated by arrow the flash assembly 124' will pivot about the forwardedge 144 on the boss 138, rather than about its own forward edge The tip136 of connector blade 128' is thus caused to move on an arcuate locusof radius R, originating at the forward edge 144 of the boss 138. Theradius R, is manifestly much shorter than radius R in FIG. 3 andoriginates closer to the blade-occupying space 122', with theconsequence that the connector blade 128' will experience a verysubstantial interference with the walls of the socket assembly 120'which define the blade-receiving space 122' whenever the flash assembly124' experiences a force moment acting to rotate it out of the socketassembly. Thus, in accordance with this invention, by moving theeffective fulcrum axis for the flash assembly substantially closer tothe blade-occupying space within the socket assembly than would be thecase if the flash assembly were free to rotate about the leading edge ofits base structure, the force required to dislodge the flash assembly iscaused to be very substantially increased, or restated, the likelihoodthat the blade will be dislodged by impulsive or other applied forcesencountered in normal handheld photographic conditions is verysubstantially reduced.

For purposes of this discussion, the support structure 126' of the flashassembly 124' is shown to have a front-to-back dimension (width) Bbetween its lower edges. The distance between the blade-receiving spaceand either of edges 144 or 146 is designated F. Viewing the inventionfrom another angle, and in terms of the designated dimensions, thedistance F between each of the edges 144, 146 of the boss 138 and theslot 148 is caused to be less than one-half the width B of the supportsructure 126 such that upon receiving an applied 'force in a directiontoward either axis 144, 146 the contactwith terminals on the blade, hereshown as a set of terminal strips 20. .The contact means-comprise astationary set of rearwardlyfacing resilientcontact members 46 arrangedto engagethe forwardly facing terminal strips 20 on a connectorbladewith a lengthwise wiping action. when aconnector blade 18 is insertedinto the socketassembly 40. As explained in more detail below, thecontact'members 46 exert a predetermined loading on the blade 18producing frictional forces which are effective to retain the flashassembly 10 securely inthe socket assembly 40.

In more detail, the blade support means is illustrated as including"rear support surface means, shown for example in FIG. 7 as a planar rearsupport surface 48, and opposed end support surfaces 50,52.

The illustrated FIGS. 5-10 embodiment is shown as including a socketbody preferably composed of an electrically insulative plasticmaterialwhich has a boss 42 corresponding to the boss 138 shownschematically in FIG. 4. The boss 42 is formed integrally with thesocket body 54 and hastherein entrance slot 44. The boss 42 definesforward and rear edges 45, 47, respectively, corresponding to theforward and rear edges 144, 146 shown schematically in FIG. 4 whichestablish the said fulcrum axes for the flash assembly 10. Dimension Fin FIG. 9 corresponds to dimension F in F IG. 4.

In order to facilitate connection of a flash assembly 10 into the socketassembly 40, the socket body 54 has formed therein an outwardly beveledmouth 56 surrounding the entrance slot 44.

' The contact members 46 will now'be described in more detail. Thecontact members 46 perform a numduce frictional forces which areeffective to retain the flash assemblyflt) securely in the socketassembly 40.

The contact members 46 are preferably composed of a spring materialhaving high electrical conductivity and high tensile strength such asberyllium copper. A nickel-silver coating is preferably applied tominimize contact resistance to resist tarnishing. In the illustratedFIGS. 1-8 embodiment, the contact members are illustrated as eachincluding a terminal section 58, a curved section 60 adapted to beanchored in an opening in the socket body 54, a spine 62 extendingupwardly from the curved section 60, and a reverse-bent section 64extending from the spine-62 downwardly along the direction of bladeinsertion for making operative electrical and mechanical engagement witha terminal strip 20 on a connector blade 18 inserted into the socketassembly 40.

FIG. 9 illustrates a contact member 46 as it might appear in itsunstressed state. FIG. 10 illustrates the same contact member 46 as itmight appear if deflected and stressed by a connector blade 18 insertedinto the socket assembly 40.

FIG. 8 illustrates the rearwardly facing interior surface of the socketenclosure. In order to electrically isolate the contact members 46 fromeach other and in order to accurately position the contact members 46 inthe socket assembly to insure registration withthe terminal strips 20 onconnector blade 18, the socket body 40 preferably has formed integrallytherein a plurality of separated recesses 65, one for receiving eachcontact member 46. By this expedient the contact members areself-aligned in the socket assembly and the possibility of electricalshorting between the contact members 46 is minimized. i

In the FIGS. 5-10 embodiment the leads (shown schematically at 24 inFIG. 2) for connecting the flash selecting system 22 with the contactmembers 46 preferably take the form of conductors (not shown) printed ona flexible sheet'substrate 66such as Mylar (TM). The printed circuitconductors may be flow soldered to the terminal section 58 of thecontact members 46. The flashselecting system 22 contains solid statecircuitry fabricated in the form of an integrated circuit chip (notshown), the terminals of which are connected to the conductors onprinted circuit substrate 66. The printed circuit substrate 66 and thechip carried thereby are preferably supported on and protected by anextension 68 of the socket body 54. The extension 68 also serves as aconvenient means for handling the socket assembly 40 during fabricationthereof and during assembly into the associated photographic camera.

FIGS. 11-14 illustrate an alternative embodiment of the invention; FIGS.11-13 and 14 are figures corresponding to FIGS. 6, 9, and 10. The FIGS.ll-l4 embodiment includes a socket assembly 69 having a boss 71 which issimilar to the boss 42 in the FIGS. 5-10 embodiment. The boss definesforward and rear edges 71a, 71b corresponding to the forward and rearedges 144, 146 in FIG. 4'and edges 45, 47 in the FIGS. 5-10 embodiment.As above-described, the forward and rear edges 71a, 71b establishfulcrum axes acting to prevent the dislodgement of a flash assembly 10from the socket assembly 69 upon receiving a blow or other applied forceacting to rotate the flash assembly 10 out of the socket assembly 69.Dimension F in FIG. 13 corresponds to dimension F in FIG. 9 and F inFIG. 4.

It has been discovered that in order to maximize the ability of theFIGS. 11-14 and FIGS. 5-10 socket assemblies to resist inadvertentdislodgement of a flash assembly therefrom, that the distance F in FIG.4 (F, in the FIGS. 5-10 embodiment and F in the FIGS. 12-14 embodiment)should be substantially less than the depth to which the connector bladeof a flash assembly penetrates the socket assembly. By this expedient,the interference of the connector blade with the walls of theblade-receiving space within the socket assembly is maximized, withconsequent maximization of resistance to flash assembly dislodgement.

The socket assembly 69 further includes a socket body 70 having bladesupport means having forward support surface means and rear supportsurface means. The forward and rear support surface means have facingend marginal portions 72, 73 and 74, 75, respectively, near the ends ofentrance slot 76 separated by a distance which is slightly greater thanthe thickness of a connector blade 18 for firmly engaging and supportingmarginal end portions of the connector blade 18, designated 78, 80 inFIG. 7.

Centrally disposed forward and rear support surface portions 82, 84 areseparated by a second distance which is greater thanthe said firstdistance whereby the blade is effectively supported by the facing endportions 72, 73, 74, 75 of theforward and rear support surface means,respectively.

The FIGS. 11-14 embodiment varies from the FIGS. 5

5-10 embodiment in that the rear support surface is recessed such thatconnector blade 18 is loaded against therear side marginal portions 74,75 thereby greatly relieving the tolerance requirements which otherisenecessarily have to be maintained across the full width of the rearsupport surface.

The necked end portions of the entranceslot 76 (shown with particularclarity in FIG. 12) defined by end portions 72, 73, 74, 75 have a numberof other important functions. Because the socket assembly is soextremely shallow, the working length of the contact members isnecessarily extremely short. But, inorder to obtain the requisite bladeloading forces, the contact members 100 must have a relatively higheffective spring rate. A high spring rate and a short working length,however, implies a relatively limited deflection tolerance to preventoverstressing of the contact. The necked end portions of the slot 76 actto limit pitching movement of the flash assembly 10 and thus control thestressing of the contact members 100 by connector blade 18 As will beexplained in detail below, the configuration of the contact members 100is such as to produce a relatively high blade loading without acorrespondingly high actual spring rate in the contact members 100. I

In order that the tolerance requirements may also be minimized in regardto the end-to-end dimensions of the blade-receiving space within thesocket assembly, the FIGS.- 9-12 socket assembly includes end supportsurfaces 88, 90 formed on lip portions 92, 94 below which are formedundercut surfaces 96, 98. By this expedient a connector blade isconfined in its side-to-side movement by theen'd support surfaces 88, 90only. The socket end-to-end tolerances in the FIGS. 11-14 embodimentmust be held, then, only on the end support surfaces 88, 90.

The contact members 100 in the FIGS. 11-14 embodiment have a convoluteconfiguration. The generally convolute configuration of the contactmembers acts to maximize the effective working length of the contactmembers 100 and the tolerable deflection of the contact members beforeoverstressing occurs. The contact members 100 each comprise an endsection 102, a base section 104 for connection to leads on a printedcircuit substrate 106, a spine 108, and a reverse-bent section 110. Thereverse-bent section 110 is illustrated as having an entrance rampportion 112, a curved portion 114, and an exit ramp portion 116.

The entrance and exit ramp portions 112, 116 assure a smooth,aesthetically pleasing insertion and withdrawal of the connector blade.The central portion 114 applies a loading force to the contiguoussurface of a connector blade in a direction normal to the connectorblade so as not to introduce any lifting force component which mighttend to raise the connector blade from the socket assembly. 1.

It is desirable that the force required to insert the connector blade ofa flash assembly into the socket assembly is less than the forcerequired to withdraw the connector blade. To this end, contact membersare each configured such that upon insertion of a connector blade, thereverse bent portion 110 of the contact member offers a predeterminedresistance to deflection and introduces a known frictional force againstthe blade. The net blade insertion force is caused to fall at apredetermined level or range of levels by an appropriate selection ofthe loading force applied by the contact members, the effective entryangle and configuration of the entrance ramp portion 112, and thecoefficients of friction between the connector blade and the varioussurfaces which it engages during insertion into the socket assembly.

The withdrawal force is caused to be greater than this insertion forceby virtue of a wedging action which is developed as the connector bladeiswithdrawn. Itcan be seen from a study of FIG. 14, for example, that asthe connector blade 18 is withdrawn, as a result of frictional forcesdeveloped between the connector blade 18 and the reverse bent section110 of each contact member 100, the reverse-bent section 110 will bedrawn along with the connector blade, thus causing the contact member100 to unroll slightly. As the contact member unrolls, its diameterexpands, causing a wedging or pinching action of the reverse bentsection 110 against the end marginal portions 74, of the rear supportsurface. By this expedient, the flash assembly 10, in spite'of theextreme shallowness of the connector blade 18, is held securely againstgravitational, centrifugal, impulsive, and other forces tending todislodge, the flash assembly from the socket assembly. i

The contact portion 114 of each contact member is caused to be as highas possible consonant with a reasonably shallow entry angle of theentrance ramp portion 112 in order that contact will be made with theterminal strips 20 on the connector blade 18 even in a situation whereina flash assembly 10 is not fully inserted into the socket assembly.

It is also desirable that the contact members 100 have a relatively lowspring rate in order to minimize the likelihood of overstressing, andyet it is also desirable that the contact members 100 develop arelatively high blade loading force. To this end, contact members 100include a tip section 117 extending from the reverse bent section intoengagement with the spine 108 to increase the effective spring rate ofthe contact members 100. By this expedient, a relatively great bladeloading force can be developed in a contact'member having a relativelylow spring rate, thus minimizing the chance that overstressing of thecontact members 100 might occur. Minimization of the spring rate of thecontact members 100 is also advantageous in that the wear rate of thecontact members 100 and thus the change in the spring rate thereof dueto wear, are correspondingly minimized.

In order to allow prestressing of the contact members so as to increasethe blade loading forces developed thereby while assuring mutualalignment of the contact members even if unequally prestressed, thesocket assemblies include limiter means for abutting the coritactmembers to define a rearward limit position thereof. The limiter meanstakes the form ofa wedge-shaped projection 130 formed integrally withthe socket body which engages the entrance ramp portions of the contactmembers. Other structures for accomplishing the described limiting andaligning features are contemplated.

The invention is not limited to the particular details of constructionof the embodiments depicted, and it is contemplated that various andother modifications and applications will occur to those skilled in theart.

Therefore, because certain changes may be made in the above-describedapparatus without departing from the true spirit and scope of theinvention herein involved, it is intended that the subject matter of thei above depiction shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A photographic camera including a flash socket assembly for receivinga multilamp flash assembly having an array of lamps of commonorientation and a support structure from-which extends a connector bladecarrying a set of electrical terminals for the lamps, said cameracomprising:

means defining an entrance slot in said socket assembly for receivingthe connector blade of a flash assembly;

fulcrum meansestablishing a fulcrum axis oriented parallel to saidentrance slot and adapted to engage the support structure of the flashassembly intermediate an edge thereof and the connector blade, saidfulcrum axis located sufficiently close to said entrance slot such thatupon receiving an applied force in a direction toward said fulcrum axis,the flash assembly and its connector blade will pivot about said fulcrumaxis to minimize the dislodging effect of the blow upon the connectorblade;

blade support means for guiding the blade of a flash assembly from saidentrance slot into an operative position within said socket assembly andfor supporting the blade in said operative position; and

contact means for making electrical contact with the terminals on aconnector blade inserted into said socket assembly. 7

2. The apparatusdefined by claim 1 wherein said distance issubstantially less than the depth to which the connector blade of theflash assembly penetrates said socket assembly when fully inserted.

3. A photographic camera having housing means including a predeterminedsurface portion, a flash socket assembly for receiving a multilamp flashassembly having anzarray of lamps of common orientation and supportstructure of width B from which extends a centrally located connectorblade carrying a set of electrical terminals for the lamps, said cameracomprising:

means defining an entrance slot in said socket assem;- bly adjacent saidsurface portion of said housing for receiving the connector blade of theflash assemy; fulcrum means establishing a fulcrum axis parallel to saidentrance slot and located between said entrance slot and said surfaceportion and adapted to engage the support structure of the flashassembly intermediate an edge thereof and the connector blade, saidfulcrum axis being above said surface portion and spaced from saidentrance slot a distance F which is less than one-half the width B ofthe support structure of the flash assembly such that upon receiving anapplied force in a direction toward said fulcrum axis, the flashassembly and its connector blade will pivot about said fulcrum axisrather than about the edge of the support structure of the flashassembly, thereby minimizing the dislodging effect of the blow upon theconnector blade; blade support means for guiding the blade of the flashassembly from said entrance slot into an operative position within saidsocket assembly and for supporting the blade in said operative position;and

contact means for making electrical contact with the terminals on theconnector blade received in said socket assembly.

4. The apparatus defined by claim 3 wherein said distance F issubstantially less than the depth to which the connector blade of theflash assembly penetrates said socket assembly when fully inserted.

5. The apparatus defined by claim 3 including a boss having a topsurface which is raised above said surface portion of said housing andwhich has said entrance slot formed therein, said boss defining an edgelocated said distance F from said entrance slot which establishes saidfulcrum axis.

6. The apparatus defined by claim 5 wherein said socket assemblyincludes a molded body composed of an electrically insulative plasticmaterial and having formed integrally therein said boss and said bladesupport means, said body defining an outwardly beveled mouth surroundingsaid entrance slot for guiding the connector blade of a flash assemblyinto said entrance slot.

7. The apparatus defined by claim 6 wherein said contact means comprisesa plurality of resilient contact members which exert a predeterminedloading on the blade producing frictional forces which are effective toretain the flash assembly securely in said socket assembly.

8. The apparatus defined by claim 5 wherein said dis-- tance F issubstantially less than the depth to which the connector blade of theflash assembly penetrates said socket assembly when fully inserted.

9. A photographic camera having a front assembly, a socket assembly insaid front assembly for receiving a multilamp flash assembly having anarray of lamps of common orientation and a support structure from thecenter of which extends a connector blade carrying a set of electricalterminal strips for the lamps in the flash assembly, comprising:

a molded socket body comprising:

means defining a boss having a top surface which is raised above andgenerally parallel with a predetermined surface portion of a housing forsaid within said socket assembly and for supporting front assembly, saidtop surface having formed the blade in said operative position; andcentrally therein an entrance slot for receiving contact means formaking electrical contact with the connector blade of the flash assemblyand said terminal strips ofaconnector blade received forward and rearedges which are substantially 5 in said socket assembly.

parallel with said entrance slot, said top surface 10. The apparatusdefined by claim 9 wherein said being substantially less in its frontedge-to-rear contact means comprises a plurality of resilient, rear edgedimension than the corresponding dimenwardly facing contact memberswhich exert a predetersion of the base of the flash assembly, such thatmined loading on the blade producing frictional forces upon receiving aninadvertent forward or rear- 0 which are effective to retain the flashassembly securely ward impulse or force, the flash assembly and its insaid socket assembly.

connector blade will pivot about the forward or 11. The apparatusdefined by claim 10 wherein the rear edge of said top surface ratherthan about a distance from said entrance slot to at least one of saidforward or rear edge of the base of the flash asforward and rear edgesof said top surface of said boss sembly, thereby minimizing thedislodging effect is substantially less than the depth to which theconnecof such impulse or force on the connector blade; tor blade of theflash assembly penetrates said socket blade support means for guidingthe blade from assembly when fully inserted.

said entrance slot into an operative position v

1. A photographic camera including a flash socket assembly for receivinga multilamp flash assembly having an array of lamps of commonorientation and a support structure from which extends a connector bladecarrying a set of electrical terminals for the lamps, said cameracomprising: means defining an entrance slot in said socket assembly forreceiving the connector blade of a flash assembly; fulcrum meansestablishing a fulcrum axis oriented parallel to said entrance slot andadapted to engage the support structure of the flash assemblyintermediate an edge thereof and the connector blade, said fulcrum axislocated sufficiently close to said entrance slot such that uponreceiving an applied force in a direction toward said fulcrum axis, theflash assembly and its connector blade will pivot about said fulcrumaxis to minimize the dislodging effect of the blow upon the connectorblade; blade support means for guiding the blade of a flash assemblyfrom said entrance slot into an operative position within said socketassembly and for supporting the blade in said operative position; andcontact means for making electrical contact with the terminals on aconnector blade inserted into said socket assembly.
 2. The apparatusdefined by claim 1 wherein said distance is substantially less than thedepth to which the connector blade of the flash assembly penetrates saidsocket assembly when fully inserted.
 3. A photographic camera havinghousing means including a predetermined surface portion, a flash socketassembly for receiving a multilamp flash assembly having an array oflamps of common orientation and support structure of width B from whichextends a centrally located connector blade carrying a set of electricalterminals for the lamps, said camera comprising: means defining anentrance slot in said socket assembly adjacent said surface portion ofsaid housing for receiving the connector blade of the flash assembly;fulcrum means establishing a fulcrum axis parallel to said entrance slotand located between said entrance slot and said surface portion andadapted to engage the support structure of the flash assemblyintermediate an edge thereof and the connector blade, said fulcrum axisbeing above said surface portion and spaced from said entrance slot adistance F which is less than one-half the width B of the supportstructure of the flash assembly such that upon receiving an appliedforce in a direction toward said fulcrum axis, the flash assembly andits connector blade will pivot about said fulcrum axis rather than aboutthe edge of the support structure of the flash assembly, therebyminimizing the dislodging effect of the blow upon the connector blade;blade support means for guiding the blade of the flash assembly fromsaid entrance slot into an operative position within said socketassembly and for supporting the blade in said operative position; andcontact means for making electrical contact with the terminals on theconnector blade received in said socket assembly.
 4. The apparatusdefined by claim 3 wherein said distance F is substantially less thanthe depth to which the connector blade of the flash assembly penetratessaid socket assembly when fully inserted.
 5. The apparatus defined byclaim 3 including a boss having a top surface which is raised above saidsurface portion of said housing and which has said entrance slot formedtherein, said boss defining an edge located said distance F from saidentrance slot which establishes said fulcrum axis.
 6. The apparatusdefined by claim 5 wherein said socket assembly includes a molded bodycomposed of an electrically insulative plastic material and havingformed integrally therein said boss and said blade support means, saidbody defining an outwardly beveled mouth surrounding said entrance slotfor guiding the connector blade of a flash assembly into said entranceslot.
 7. The apparatus defined by claim 6 wherein said contact meanscomprises a plurality of resilient contact members which exert apredetermined loading on the blade producing frictional forces which areeffective to retain the flash assembly securely in said socket assembly.8. The apparatus defined by claim 5 wherein said distance F issubstantially less than the depth to which the connector blade of theflash assembly penetrates said socket assembly when fully inserted.
 9. Aphotographic camera having a front assembly, a socket assembly in saidfront assembly for receiving a multilamp flash assembly having an arrayof lamps of common orientation and a support structure from the centerof which extends a connector blade carrying a set of electrical terminalstrips for the lamps in the flash assembly, comprising: a molded socketbody comprising: means defining a boss having a top surface which israised above and generally parallel with a predetermined surface portionof a housing for said front assembly, said top surface having formedcentrally therein an entrance slot for receiving the connector blade ofthe flash assembly and forward and rear edges which are substantiallyparallel with said entrance slot, said top surface being substantiallyless in its front edge-to-rear edge dimension than the correspondingdimension of the base of the flash assembly, such that upon receiving aninadvertent forward or rearward impulse or force, the flash assembly andits connector blade will pivot about the forward or rear edge of saidtop surface rather than about a forward or rear edge of the base of theflash assembly, thereby minimizing the dislodging effect of such impulseor force on the connector blade; blade support means for guiding theblade from said entrance slot into an operative position within saidsocket assembly and for supporting the blade in said operativE position;and contact means for making electrical contact with said terminalstrips of a connector blade received in said socket assembly.
 10. Theapparatus defined by claim 9 wherein said contact means comprises aplurality of resilient, rearwardly facing contact members which exert apredetermined loading on the blade producing frictional forces which areeffective to retain the flash assembly securely in said socket assembly.11. The apparatus defined by claim 10 wherein the distance from saidentrance slot to at least one of said forward and rear edges of said topsurface of said boss is substantially less than the depth to which theconnector blade of the flash assembly penetrates said socket assemblywhen fully inserted.